“So, I have a serious question,” Tao says as he and Chanyeol are closing up shop after a long day of work.

“I may have a serious answer, but it’s not likely,” Chanyeol replies, not even looking up from the table he’s wiping down.

Tao scoffs. His arms are crossed over his chest and his side of the café remains uncleaned. “It’s been a week, why haven’t you called Kris?”

Chanyeol stares at the younger man in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You’re seriously asking why I haven’t called your ex? Which, thanks for waiting three days to actually tell me that little piece of information, by the way.”

If looks could kill, Tao would be dead. But of course the Chinese man doesn’t care, ignoring Chanyeol’s glare and leaning back against the wall before rolling his eyes. “Why does it matter? Kris is a hot piece of and he and I have been broken up for three months. You’re totally allowed to call him. In fact, I’m gonna go all wushu master on you if you don’t. So call him.”

“Tao, I’ve known you since you moved to Korea and I’ve seen your wushu; I’m not scared of you. Especially not after the nunchuck thing you pulled last year.”

Tao’s cheeks redden and he curses Chanyeol at least fifty times in Mandarin before speaking again. “Fine. If you don’t call Kris and go out on a date with him, I’ll fire you.”

Chanyeol deadpans. “You can’t be serious…”

Tao quirks a brow, silently daring the tall barista to try him.

“B-but,” Chanyeol argues, knowing that he needs to keep this job to pay for his rent so he doesn’t have to live on campus. “I don’t even have his number anymore, I-I lost the receipt.”

Tao sighs before pulling out his cell phone and dialing. “Gege, I have someone who needs to talk to you,” he says before ing the phone into Chanyeol’s hands and stalking past him back into the kitchen.

“H-hello?” He says, ninety-percent sure who it is on the other end of the line. Even expecting it his heart still drops when he hears Kris’s deep voice reply.

His only thought throughout the awkward conversation is ‘ you, Huang Zitao.’

---

Chanyeol isn’t expecting too much on his date with Kris at first. Tao told him that Kris and his family had moved to Korea when he was in high school and that he’s a student at a nearby college; Tao did not tell him that Kris’s family is made of money and that the he drives a freaking Porsche. Needless to say Chanyeol is more than a little surprised when he finds out.

He’s even more surprised when Kris pulls up to a five star restaurant in the heart of Seoul and the waitress asks if he wants his regular table.

“Y’know,” Chanyeol says after they order their drinks. “When you said dinner and a movie, I was expecting street food and the double feature at the campus theater.”

Kris smirks, hands folded underneath his chin as he leans on the table. “I wanted a more private setting to get to know you. Tao didn’t tell me much and I was hoping you could fill in all of the blanks.”

Chanyeol blushes, hiding behind the menu to escape Kris’s intense gaze. “What do you want to know?” he asks, thankful that he doesn’t stutter.

“Let’s start with why is a man as gorgeous as you still on the market?” Chanyeol almost chokes on his own spit at the compliment.

Chanyeol’s never thought of himself as overly attractive. He acknowledges that he has good features, such as a nice jawline and teeth, but his eyes are too big and his ears stick out and his caramel colored hair is always too fluffy and he honestly doesn’t know why someone who looks like Kris does would think that he’s appealing in the slightest.

“I, uh, I just got out of a relationship,” he manages after a few seconds, glancing at Kris over the menu. “It ended pretty badly and I just didn’t want to jump back into dating too quickly.”

Kris chuckles, the sound sending shivers down Chanyeol’s back. “I imagine that’s pretty difficult with Tao as your boss.”

“You have no idea,” Chanyeol replies immediately, Kris’s quiet laughter filling the space between them at the words. Chanyeol’s starting to think that staying single for so long was a bad idea because it seems like everything Kris does immediately sends blood rushing to his nether regions and he wants to blame it on how long it’s been since he was intimate with anyone.

The conversation stills for a little bit as the waitress arrives with their drinks. Kris ends up ordering for Chanyeol when he can’t decide what he wants and the waitress leaves, tossing a knowing smile over her shoulder at Kris as she passes.

“Don’t mind Amber,” Kris says at Chanyeol’s look. “She’s just happy because I’m actually out with someone other than Tao for once.”

Chanyeol quirks a brow. “Did she not like him?” he asks without thinking.

“It’s not that she didn’t like him, they’re actually pretty close, she just didn’t like me dating him,” Kris shrugs, lifting his drink to his lips. “Something about me needing to find a good Korean boy who isn’t afraid of ghosts.”

Chanyeol snorts, soda shooting up his nose and causing him to wince through his laughter. “Please tell me I heard that right. Tao, resident ‘wushu master,’ is afraid of ghosts?”

Kris grins evilly and nods. “Horrified of them. He actually thought he saw one in the bathroom of my apartment one day and made me stand in the bathroom with him for a half hour while he showered so that the ghost couldn’t get him. He even showers with swim trunks on because he doesn’t want the ghosts looking at him .”

Chanyeol has a hand over his mouth to hold in his laughter, the other hand beating on his knee in an attempt to calm down. “That honestly does not surprise me as much as it should.”

Dinner goes smoothly after that with them chatting about things like their families and what classes they’re taking and they make it to the theater in giggles (Manly giggles, very manly giggles.) with their arms wrapped around each other.

Kris’s arm stays around his shoulders even after they get to their seats and Chanyeol doesn’t mind at all. He ends up leaning into Kris, the armrest between them taken up so their sides touch and somehow they’re kissing and all Chanyeol can think is that Kris tastes like cinnamon and fine wine and it’s more than a little intoxicating.

“Kris,” Chanyeol whispers when they break apart for air, a small part of him wondering when he got in Kris’s lap. “Let’s get out of here.”

Chanyeol’s lips are on his neck the minute Kris gets back in the car and his hands are roaming to places they shouldn’t be and it’s driving Kris crazy as he tries his best not to speed the whole way back to his apartment.

(He fails horribly.)